Brett McMurphy Puts Odds of College Football Cancelling 2020 Season at 90 Percent

Amped for another season of college football? To steal a catchphrase from ESPN’s Lee Corso, not so fast. College football insider Brett McMurphy of Stadium Network suggests it will be a long time before we see Trevor Lawrence’s flowing locks back on the field at Death Valley or Nick Saban giving a terse halftime interview. Speaking with hosts Ross Tucker and Nick Kostos Thursday on RADIO.COM's “You Better You Bet” podcast, McMurphy didn’t hesitate when asked the likelihood of college football being played in 2020.

With the coronavirus growing in intensity, the long-time analyst is skeptical that football—at least at the collegiate level—will resume anytime soon. “I’d say 90 percent,” McMurphy estimated when asked how likely the NCAA is to cancel its upcoming 2020 season. “I just cannot see these university presidents allowing students from all over the country to go back to their campus in August.”

The NCAA has already called off its spring sports slate in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and McMurphy doesn’t expect the cancellations to stop there. “I think they want to nip this thing in the bud completely. I don’t think they want to say, ‘Oh it’s down to a manageable number, now everybody return to normal.’ And then two months later it’s out of control again.”

Scrapping an entire football season—the NCAA’s biggest moneymaker by far—would be unprecedented. But with so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus and when it might let up, there’s no telling what will happen in the coming days and months. “Everybody’s waiting for the all-clear signal,” said McMurphy. “Everybody’s waiting for the green light to go. Nobody knows when that will happen.”